Review: Previously in Unit 7:2, we discussed about how to enable students to make good and communicative telephone calls by using appropriate patterns in English.
In
this Unit 7:3,
we will learn how to teach the sub topic, ‘Identifying
themes’ in Form Three.
In this sub topic, we will practically focus on how to guide students to identify
and analyse main theme and sub themes in particular literary works.
(Also: For Literature in English
Subject, Check out my Literature in English Blog. Also check out My Diary for Diary Writing Inspiration and More!
)
THE FOLLOWING IS THE COMPREHENSIVE
TEACHING GUIDE ON THE SUB TOPIC:
A: INFORMATION OF
THE TOPIC:
1. Topic: READING LITERARY WORKS
2. Sub Topic: Identifying themes.
3.
Periods per sub topic: 08
4: Class: Form Three.
4: Class: Form Three.
B: HOW TO TEACH THE
TOPIC:
GENERAL
INTRODUCTION
The aim of this sub topic is to help students be able to identify theme
in a given literary work. This sub topic comes after students have been
familiarised with the ways of analysing literary works discussed in the
previous topic. It is expected that students must have read the whole literary
text in previous sub topic, then at these point they are guided to analyse the
themes of the selected literary work.
ACTIVITIES AND
GAMES TO FACILITATE A LESSON
ACTIVITY
1: BRAINSTORMING, THE MEANING OF THEME..
By
definition, a theme is a central or dominant idea in a literary work. It is the
basic or general idea expressed in the story, or the major topic discussed in
the story. Themes are usually not stated directly by the author in the literary
work but rather they are inferred by the readers. A single story or book may
have many themes/ideas and some themes may even conflict each other. The
following are some common themes in African literature:
- African traditions.
- Corruption.
- Betrayal.
- Hypocrisy.
- Tribalism.
The
concept of Main theme and sub themes of a literary work
A literary work may have a
main theme and other sub themes. Taking an example from ‘Unanswered Cries’, the
main theme of the novel is “Female Genital Mutilation” or “The evils of female
circumcision”. The main theme of the literary work may be expressed in a single
statement or two. From the same literary text, the sub themes may be many such
as; Poverty, tribalism, superstitions, African culture, marriage, and the like
and are directly linked to the main theme of the literary work in question. Check
out this illustration.
ACTIVITY
2: TECHNIQUES OF IDENTIFYING THEMES IN A SELECTED TEXT.
There are things or
techniques that help in identifying the themes of the particular literary text.
To understand the general overview of the text and identify the themes, the
students should take the following into consideration:
- The blurb of the book. It is the back cover of the text where summary of the book and author’s information can be found.
- The setting of the book. This helps to know where the story is set.
- The actions and ideas of the characters.
- What is conveyed throughout the work of art.
- Making inferences. These are the techniques that help student to identify the themes which are not directly stated by the author.
In making inferences, a
student infer to the themes of the book by using his/her own life experiences,
by thinking about the clues or appearances of the character, by thinking about
how characters handles conflicts, etc. For example, when the reader sees a character
with dirty and torn clothes, he/she infers that the particular character is
poor because he/she has used the evidences or the clues he has seen to the
character. For more on MAKING INFERENCES,
Click MAKING
INFERENCE SKILLS
Apart from making inference
skills, students are guided to use the correct patterns in identifying the
story’s main ideas by using the following patterns and guiding questions:
- The story is set in………
- The main theme of the story is………..
- The writer uses………
- The writer applies ……..point of view.
- The writer uses …………. narrative style.
- The writer portrays……….
- The writer uses ……………language, etc.
All these patterns are
helpful in making students more conversant with the many ideas of the selected
work of art.
ACTIVITY
3: DISCUSSION OF CULTURAL ELEMENTS OF A TEXT AND PRESENTATION OF THE THEMES
Discussing
Cultural Elements of a Text.
It is expected that one
literary text will be read and analysed for the Form Three students. Thus, having
read a literary work, the teacher can guide the students to identify
distinctive cultural elements or African traditions as well as other themes depicted
in the work. For instance, from the novel ‘Unanswered Cries’, the students in
groups, can discuss the cultural elements such as;
- Female circumcision, as when girls of Temne tribe are circumcised.
- African superstitions, as when most Bondo society is superstitious.
- Beliefs in gods, as when women confesses to the gods when they get birth complications.
- Witchcraft and sorcery, as when Yah Posseh performs acts of witchcraft and sorcery, etc.
The importance of
discussing these cultural elements is to connect students’ cultural elements
with the cultural elements learnt in the literary text.
Discussion
of the Themes in Groups.
In groups, the students are
guided to discuss the main themes found in the literary work studied. Here the
teacher can use various methods to make students interact well with the themes
found in a text. In this time around, we will try to discuss the themes using
the Tree Method.
In this method, a circle is
drawn on the paper. Then each group allows one student to lead a discussion.
The leader of the discussion should use arrows to list the themes other
students will be mentioning during the discussion. Below is an example of this
method when some themes are taken from ‘Unanswered Cries’ as follows:
Presentation
stage: After thorough discussion, the students in their
groups present their work for class discussion during which the teacher guides
students to reach a consensus. A teacher should allow each group to present
their works in this method on the blackboard. Through this way, the students
will be interacted with many themes found in the text. At the end of the
presentations, a teacher always sums up the main ideas of the selected literary
text by emphasizing the important points of the literary work.
ACTIVITY
4: DISCUSSING THE RELEVANCE OF THE LITERARY WORK.
In this last activity of
the sub topic, students are guided to relate what they have learnt with the
real experiences in their societies. They relate the literary work to real life
experiences. In doing so, they discuss whether the work of art studied is
relevant or irrelevant to the contemporary societies like theirs.
Discussion
stage. It is also advised to arrange students in groups
because this is the time they are going to discuss about their own home or
societal lives. For example, they can discuss if they have heard about the
practices of female circumcision, if they have seen or experienced the
situations. Some of them might have heard about the practices on newspapers or
on TVs and so on. All in all, they should discuss these things together with
other things in their groups.
Presentation
stage. Students in their groups, are now required to present
their answers for class discussion. Each group should be given at least four to
five statements that explain about the relevance of the work of art studied.
6: CONNECTION:
Beyond the Sub Topic. This sub topic is the topic that helps students to improve
other learning skills like inference skills, critical thinking skills, and
summarisation skills.
7: NOTE: It is important for
the students to understand how themes are identified in the literary work. They
should understand that main themes or minor themes are not directly stated by
the writer, but rather they are to be inferred by the readers so that to get
them.
The inference making skills are to be emphasised to the students. They help
them to make inferences not only on literature but also on other subjects and
texts that require them to do so.
**********************************
- Listening for specific information
- Listening for general information
- Participating in debates, dialogues, interviews, impromptu speeches and discussions Part 1
- Participating in debates, dialogues, interviews, impromptu speeches and discussions Part 2
- Participating in debates, dialogues, interviews, impromptu speeches and discussions Part 3 l
- Reading intensively for comprehension
- Reading extensively
- Identifying and analysing setting, main plot, and characters Identifying themes
- Identifying main features of different genres Part 1
- Identifying main features of different genres Part 2
- Identifying main features of different genres Part 3
- Writing narrative compositions/essays (not less than 200 words) Part 1
- Writing narrative compositions/essays (not less than 200 words) Part 2
- Writing expository compositions/essays (not less than 200 words)
- Writing descriptive compositions/essays (not less than 200 words)
- Writing argumentative compositions/essays (not less than 200 words)
- Creative writing
- Creative Writing (Six stages of teaching how to write poems)
- Writing letters to the editor
- Writing business transaction letters
Related Topics:
- Build your Essay Paragraph with these 4 Easy Components!
- DOWNLOAD LITERATURE ESSAY FORMAT for Form Three & Four
- 3 IMPORTANT THINGS FOR A GOOD ESSAY - Form Three & Four
- REQUIREMENTS & COMMON MISTAKES ON ESSAY WRITING in Form Three & Four
- Download Sample Essay Formats for Form Three & Four - With Three Important Parts of an Essay
- DOWNLOAD 'Passed Like a Shadow' for FREE!
- DOWNLOAD A FULL ANALYSIS OF 'UNANSWERED CRIES' HERE!
- TEACHING STUDENTS 'INFERENCE MAKING SKILLS' FOR THEIR BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEXTS
- ROAD TO BETTER ANALYSIS OF LITERARY WORKS
Also check out:
Reference
Conteh, Osman (2002) Unanswered Cries, Macmillan Publishers
Limited.